4 Charged in LA Death of Rapper Pop Smoke
Two men and two teens have been charged in the death of rising rapper Pop Smoke, who was killed during a Los Angeles home-invasion robbery in February, the district attorney’s office said Monday.
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Rap Video
Ordering a retrial of Terrance Craig, who was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm after his involvement in a high-speed shootout, the Sixth Circuit ruled that the government had no legal basis to show the jury an unadmitted video exhibit depicting a masked person rapping and holding a firearm.
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Rap Impostors Accused of Scamming Luxury Hotels of Thousands
A crew of Rolls Royce-riding identity thieves who posed as rap industry figures scammed more than $100,000 from some of the South’s most exclusive hotels, prosecutors say.
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Rapper Damon Dash sued Entertainment One Reality Productions in L.A. Superior Court, claiming it broke its promise that it would not make his son drink alcohol while filming the series “Growing Up Hip Hop.”
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A woman claims in federal court that hip-hop producer Jamal Rashid aka Molly Mall drugged and sexually assaulted her at his house, giving her what doctors called “injuries consistent with a rape;” Rashid pleaded guilty to prostitution-related charges last year.
Read moreThat Was Rude
The Benedictine Sisters of the Sacred Heart sued Daniel McLoyd aka IceJJFish for invasion of privacy, trespass and emotional distress, claiming the rapper broke into Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto to film a video featuring dancing and inappropriate language, in DuPage County Court, Ill.
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A Philadelphia police officer claims in federal court that Meek Mill, Roc Nation, Jay-Z, et al. defamed her in a documentary, “Free Meek.”
Read moreSexual Battery
A photographer claims Damon Dash, a co-founder of (nonparty) Roc-A-Fella Records, sexually assaulted her at his home during a photo shoot, in federal court.
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R. Kelly Pleads Not Guilty on Charges Linked to Aaliyah Marriage
R. Kelly pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new Brooklyn indictment that charges the rapper with paying bribes so that Aaliyah, the hip-hop ingenue who died in a 2001 plane crash, could get a fake ID to marry him when she was just 15.
Read moreSharon Stone
Actress Sharon Stone sued aspiring Chelsea Chanel Dudley pka Chanel West Coast in federal court, claiming she violates trademark in a song called “Sharon Stoned.”
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Raymond Price sued Southwest Airlines, claiming it fired him for recording his own hip-hop song, “Pocket Full of Change,” on his own time, because it contains, in the airline’s opinion, “derogatory language,” in Alameda County Court.
Read moreHip-Hop Fraud
Carlton Ridenhour, pka Chuck D, a founding member of Public Enemy, claims Reach Music Publishing and Terrordome Music Publishing defrauded him of more than $1 million over the years, in L.A. Superior Court.
Read moreSinger R Kelly Arrested on More Sex Crime Charges
Adding to R. Kelly’s pile of legal troubles, the R&B star was hit with federal sex crime charges in two jurisdictions this week.
Read moreOutrage Over Senseless Killing of Black Teen
Hundreds of people including a presidential candidate spoke out on Twitter this week after a 17-year-old black youth was killed at suburban Phoenix convenience store, by a white man charged Tuesday with first-degree murder who said he felt threatened by the boy’s rap music.
Read moreLL Cool J
A federal judge granted default judgment to LL Cool J, a rapper whose real name is James Todd Smith, enjoining concert promoter Guerrilla Union from using the trademark “Rock the Bells.”
Read moreRapper Nipsey Hussle Shot to Death in LA
Nipsey Hussle, the skilled and respected rapper who earned a Grammy nomination this year for his major-label debut and was greatly respected in South Los Angeles where he grew up, has been shot to death, authorities said. He was 33.
Read moreGangland News Fills Niche You Won’t See on TV
Shawn Cotton no longer drives his $55,000, bright pink Corvette to work because he’s afraid it could get him killed, like his friend. But there are two things he won’t leave home without: his bulletproof vest and the 9 mm pistol he slips into his pocket.
Read moreNBA Jerseys Styled After Notorious B.I.G. Draw Fire From Coogi
A sweater manufacturer is crying foul in federal court over the NBA’s attempt to honor Notorious B.I.G., claiming the league and retailers appropriated copyrighted designs that the late rapper popularized.
Read moreBusta Rhymes
Suing under the name Trevor George Smith Jr., rapper Busta Rhymes claims in court that Rasheem “Bubba” Barker skimmed half a million bucks from booking fees.
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